Photo of Trump with a young girl and his tongue hanging out
Executive summary
A widely shared photograph purporting to show Donald Trump with a young girl — his tongue hanging out — is not an authentic capture of that moment but a manipulated image derived from a real 1990s photo of Trump with his daughter Ivanka; multiple fact‑checks and forensic experts say the mouth and, in some viral variants, the child’s face were altered using digital tools or AI [1] [2] [3]. The image has circulated in several forms around releases of Jeffrey Epstein‑related files, where social and political actors have used doctored or ambiguous photos as clickbait and political ammunition, and reputable outlets warn there is no evidence the specific tongue‑out image is genuine or appears in the released DOJ materials [4] [5] [6].
1. The photographic origin: a real 1990s picture, not the viral version
Photographic sleuthing shows the viral tongue‑out image is based on an authentic paparazzi shot of Donald Trump with his daughter Ivanka from the early 1990s — images from the same period appear in Getty and were taken at the Plaza Hotel and other New York events — but the viral variant has been digitally altered to add the protruding tongue and, in other variants, to swap or obscure the child’s face [1] [3] [6].
2. Expert debunking: forensic analysts and fact‑checkers concur
Digital forensics experts and long‑standing fact‑check organizations independently flagged clear signs of manipulation: UC Berkeley’s Hany Farid and fact‑check sites concluded the image circulating with the tongue was not genuine, and Snopes and FactCheck traced multiple fake Trump‑and‑young‑girl photos back to compositing, AI generation, or simple retouching rather than any verified DOJ evidence [2] [1] [7].
3. The Epstein files context: timing, redactions and misinformation dynamics
The image gained traction alongside December 2025 releases of documents and photos tied to Jeffrey Epstein, and some social posts framed the doctored photo as an “uncensored” Epstein file image; journalists and fact‑checkers found no credible chain showing the tongue‑out photograph was part of the DOJ release, and mainstream outlets did not report it as such [4] [5] [8].
4. Who benefits from the image — politics, clicks and social‑media theater
The doctored photo surfaced in contexts that benefitted competing actors: creators of viral content got clicks by promising explosive “discoveries,” partisan accounts weaponized the image to score political points, and pro‑ and anti‑Trump communities each spun narratives — either to condemn or to dismiss the montage — making the photo useful as propaganda regardless of its truth [6] [9] [8].
5. Patterns: this is one of many fabricated Trump‑girl images
This manipulation fits a documented pattern: Snopes, FactCheck and others have catalogued multiple fake images that place Trump with underage girls or that combine mismatched photos of Trump and Epstein; those debunks show recurring signs of AI generation, compositing errors, and the reuse of an original Ivanka photo as the basis for different false claims [10] [11] [7].
6. Limits of the record and responsible takeaway
Public reporting and forensic analysis establish that the tongue‑out variant is doctored and that no reputable news outlet has verified it as part of official Epstein materials, but available sources cannot speak to every private file or unreleased image; the responsible conclusion from the published record is that the viral image is fake or manipulated, and claims that it proves new criminal conduct are unsupported by the documented evidence so far [5] [4] [1].
7. What readers should watch for next
Expect more recycled and AI‑altered visuals tied to high‑profile names; the safeguards are simple but necessary — cross‑check with established fact‑checks, examine provenance (Getty, wire services), and treat sensational thumbnails or uncited “leaks” with skepticism because they often function as political clickbait rather than reliable evidence [1] [6] [9].